The present invention relates to a self-wringing mop, having a handle, an operating sleeve twistably mounted on the handle, a mop head including cleaning elements which may be wrung out by a relative twist between the handle and the operating sleeve, and having a backtwist blocking device for fixing the sleeve on the handle against unintentional backtwisting during wringing, including ribbed elevations extending in the axial direction at least on a predefined limited longitudinal section of the handle, and at least one blocking element protruding inwardly from the operating sleeve radially into the twisting area of the ribbed elevations; the blocking element is pressed against the wall of the operating sleeve by the ribbed elevations when the handle is twisted in the blocking direction, thus forming a stop for the ribbed elevations; however, it moves past the ribbed elevations outwardly against an elastic force when the handle is twisted in the unblocked direction.
In a self-wringing mop, having a handle, an operating sleeve that is axially displaceable and twistably mounted on the handle, and a mop head including cleaning elements which may be wrung out by a relative twist between the handle and the operating sleeve, there are numerous approaches to prevent the unintentional backtwisting of the operating sleeve on the handle due to the restoring forces, originating from the expanded cleaning elements, when the handle is released for the next twisting motion. For example, from U.S. Pat. No. 6,115,869 a self-wringing mop is known which is composed of a handle, a sleeve axially displaceable and twistably situated on the handle, and a mop head including string-shaped cleaning elements which, with their lower ends, are attached to the lower end of the handle and with their upper ends to the lower end of the operating sleeve. By displacing the operating sleeve from a lower wiping position in which the cleaning elements are sagging loop-like and where the operating sleeve is freely twistable, they may be brought upward into a wringing position, in which they are stretched and wrung out by twisting of the operating sleeve. In order to prevent backtwisting of the operating sleeve during wringing and during grip change on the handle, the known self-wringing mop has a ratchet device. Situated on the handle, this device is composed of a ring from which spring elements stick out radially. Correspondingly, the operating sleeve has ribs in the upper area of its internal circumference. For wringing, the operating sleeve is pulled upward from the lower wiping position all the way over the ring having the spring elements and is then twisted in the wringing direction. The spring elements and the ribs are designed and placed in such a way that twisting in the wringing direction is possible; however, wringing in the opposite direction is blocked. In order to disengage the blocking device after wringing, the operating sleeve is pushed downward again in a simple manner so that the spring elements and the ribs no longer engage. Disadvantageous in this known device is, above all, the fact that a certain risk of injury exists for the user due to the spring elements radially sticking out. It is furthermore disadvantageous that the rib structure as well as the spring elements must be manufactured in a tightly fitting manner and must be adjusted to one another since the blocking device has a positive fit. This results in a complex manufacturing process, as well as in high manufacturing costs.
A similar approach is provided in U.S. Pat. No. 6,212,728 B1, which describes another self-wringing mop. This mop, like the one described above, has a handle, an operating sleeve, a mop head including string-shaped cleaning elements which are attached both to the handle and the operating sleeve, as well as a backtwist blocking device. The backtwist blocking device is composed of a blocking element which extends radially from the operating sleeve inwardly into the through opening of the operating sleeve and engages in a corresponding rib structure on the handle. During twisting in the wringing direction, the blocking element moves past the ribbed elevations situated on the handle outwardly against an elastic force. During twisting in the opposite direction, the blocking element is supported by the sleeve wall, thus forming a stop for the ribbed elevations on the handle. The twisting motion is blocked. The rib structure is only provided on a limited longitudinal section on the handle so that the blocking device may be disengaged again by pushing down the operating sleeve. The wringing operation corresponds to the one described above. The components of the backtwist blocking device must also be manufactured with a tight fit in this self-wringing mop, as is the case in the mop described above, thus increasing manufacturing costs and manufacturing complexity.